Storage cabinet for transparencies and the like



J. R. MIDDENTS Nov. 24, 1959 v STORAGE CABINET FOR TRANSPARENCIES AND- THE LIKE Filed April 23, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR -ATTORNEY Nov. 24, 1959 J. R. MIDDENTS 2,913,842

STORAGE CABINET FOR TRANSPARENCIESVAND TEE LIKE Filed April 23, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent STORAGE CABHQET FOR TRANSPARENCIES AND THE LIKE JohnR; Middents St. Charles, Mo. Application April 23, 1957, Serial No. 654,629

1 Claim. (Cl. 40-1061) (Granted under Title 35, US. Code (1952), sec. 266)- The invention described herein, if patented, maybe manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relatesto the filing and storage of photo negatives and color transparencies as well as other sheetlike articles, andhas for its primary object to provide in combination a lighted cabinet in which transparent slidable supports serve to bring selected articles into line with the light for inspection purposes.

Another object of the invention consists in providing a cabinet with a pair of vertically hinged doors and horizontal beveled grooves in the inner faces of the doors and the side walls of the cabinet, whereby shelves having beveled side edges may he slid outwardly of the cabinet when the doors are opened so that the shelves may be supported in horizontal position on the doors.

A further object of the invention resides in providing such a cabinet with a slidably mounted light box or drawer at the bottom thereof, whereby the light may be drawn outwardly into vertical alignment with a transparent shelf which is supported on the opened doors.

A still further object of the invention consists in a novel arrangement of adjustable trackways and clips associated therewith, so that sheets of various size and thickness may be removably and adjustably secured to the transparent shelving.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the novel storage cabinet;

Figure 2 is a similar view showing the doors in open position and one of the shelves drawn out for inspection purposes;

Figure 3 is an enlarged detailed sectional view of one of the door hinges;

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view of the cabinet in open position as shown in Figure 2 with parts broken away;

Figure 5 is a plan view of one of the transparent shelves or trays with parts broken away;

Figures 6 and 7 are detailed sectional views taken on lines 6-6 and 7-7 of Figure 5; and

Figure 8 is a detailed perspective view showing the bevelled grooves or trackways, in which the transparent shelves are supported.

Referring to the drawings in greater detail and by reference numerals, the numeral 1 indicates the body of the cabinet, having a back 2, top 3, sides 4, bottom 5, and supporting legs 6. The front of the cabinet is entirely open and provided with a pair of vertically hinged doors 7 for closing the same, and being hinged at 8 as indicated in Figure 3.

The shelves or trays for supporting the photo negatives and color transparencies are indicated by the numeral 9, and are formed of transparent material indicated 2,913,842 Patented Nov. 24, 1959 ICE,

' as glass in the present disclosure. These shelves are provided with bevelled edges 10 adapted to rest inbevelled grooves 11 provided in the inner faces of the cabinet and the inner faces of doors 7 as clearly indicated in Figure 8. The bevelled grooves or trackways 11 in the.

doors are formed in the same horizontal plane as the similar grooves in the inner faces of the sides 4 of the cabinet body, so that when the doors are swung open as indicated in Figure 2, any one or more of the transparent shelves may be drawn outwardly onto the grooves of the doors as clearly indicated in Figure 2. In this. connection, it should be noted that doors, 7 are so hinged whenthey are in alignment with the side walls of the cabinet, thereby avoiding any possibility of causing the shelves to drop by reason of excessive spacing of the,

grooves inthe respective, doors.

The seriesfof grooves 11 are stopped short. of the, bottom of the cabinet, and in the space thus provided is a rib 12 on each inner face of the walls 4, and these n'bs serve as trackways for a light box 13, provided with grooves 14 in its opposite sides and carrying light sources 15 of any preferred type. The top of the light box 13 is enclosed by a frosted glass plate 13 which serves to provide a bright but diffused light when in use. As is the case in connection with the grooves 11, the doors 7 are provided with ribs 16 in the same plane as the rib 12 of the cabinet body, so that when the doors are open as shown in Figures 2 and 4, light box 13 may be drawn outwardly into position below a shelf 9 which has been drawn out and supported by trackways 11 in the doors 7. This relative position of one of the shelves and the light box is clearly indicated in Figure 2. The photo negatives or color transparencies or the like are indicated by numeral 17 and may be clamped by clamps 18. These clamps are provided with down-turned wings 19 extended laterally from a central enlarged portion 20, so as to provide a one-piece double clip. These clips 18 are slidably mounted in trackways 21 provided with inwardly and upwardly overhanging flanges 22. These trackways 21 are removably and adjustably secured on the shelves 9 by means of U-shaped clips 23 which have one leg 24 extending over the base of the particular track, and the other leg 25 engaged under the shelf, as shown in Figure 6. The edges of the overhanging flanges 22 are spaced apart a distance somewhat less than the width of the central enlarged portion of the clips 18, so that while the clips may be slid along the trackways 21, they may not be inadvertently removed from the track but can be removed by sliding them out through the ends of the track after the clips 23 are removed. With this construction, it will be apparent that the trackways 21 may be individually positioned at various points along the shelf on which they are mounted and that likewise the several clips.18 may be moved inwardly or outwardly along the tracks so as to provide a great variety of positions and securing transparencies of greatly varying sizes in position on the shelves.

As it will be noted from viewing Figures 1 and 4, the doors 7 stop short of the top of the body of the cabinet, and the space provided in the cabinet above the upper edges of the doors may be used for slidably supporting a plurality of drawers 26. These drawers may be used for the storage of indexing cards of 3" x 5" dimensions or the like for use in connection with the various items secured on the transparent shelves.

From the foregoing disclosure, taken in connection with accompanying drawings, it will be noted that I have devised a rather simple structure for the storage of photo negatives and color transparencies, which affords a visual references to all filed material without the need of in anyway touching or removing the stored units, that the structure comprises simply an open-face cabinet provided with grooves aligned with grooves in the doors, transparent shelves which may be drawn out and supported in the grooves in the doors, means for illuminating the under sides of the shelves, and variously adjustable means for supporting the photo negatives and color transparencies in a great variety of positions on the surface of the various shelves.

In accordance with the patent laws, I have described what I now consider to be the preferred form of construction of a storage cabinet for color transparencies and the like, but it is to be understood that various minor changes may be made in the structural details without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it is intended that all such changes be included within the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

In a storage cabinet for transparencies and the like, a plurality of transparent shelves and means for removably clamping transparencies on said shelves, said means comprising removable trackways formed with inwardly directed flanges spaced apart at their inner edges, spring clips slidably engaging the ends of the shelves and the ends of the trackways for detachably securing them to the shelves, and spring clips having enlarged central portions normally of greater width than the space between the inner edges of the flanges of the trackways and having laterally overhanging ends, said last-mentioned spring clips being slidably mounted in the trackways and having said ends adapted to engage transparencies mounted on the shelves.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 368,173 Tinne Aug. 9, 1887 484,121 Stein Oct. 11, 1892 1,576,557 Strully Mar. 16, 1926 1,602,341 Day Oct. 5, 1926 1,943,673 Hudson Jan. 16, 1934 2,211,376 Isbell Aug. 13, 1940 2,258,986 Hutchison Oct. 14, 1941 2,704,901 Hulse Mar. 29, 1955 2,779,116 Smith Jan. 29, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 772,403 France Mar. 16, 1932 

